All i can suggest is try to take the lines loose at the back of the compressor. They can be a pain to get to but if you can't get them loose else where it maybe your only option. You are using a tubing/flare-nut wrench on the tranny/brake lines, correct?

 

nah, i am not sure that. i am just using a regular wrench.

 

You need to go get some of these although you need to get the correct size for your application. This picture is just to show you want they look like http://www.redhummer.com/myhummer/to...s/flarenut.jpg
If not you'll continue to destroy all your fittings.

 

All that stuff has been heat cycling and bonding together for 13 years now and it should probably soak for a day with a penetrant of some kind. Then when you break it loose, it is better to use a quick sharp force than a steady pressure.

 

just wonering....if i dont use my ac cuz my compressor is bad, could i just cut the ac lines? i plan on taking it out anyways. just wondering.

 

Hell no just unbolt the lines. Very easy. Now I had to remove the upper lines also to allow my cables to attach to the cherry picker. Otherwise they would get in the way.

 

dont cut em till you drain out the freeon cuz that stuff is dangerous. when i dropped the motor out of my 94 A4 car i just took off hte 3 bolts on either side of the K member and dropped the whole thing down and pulled it out(you gotta disconnect the steering shaft too from the firewall). to disconnect the A/C just slowly open a fitting like the one on top of the compressor until it starts to hiss and just let it drain slowly in a ventalated place. the tranny linkage i dunno if you took out your center console but that was the easiest way for me to do it. just a tip...when your about to drop the motor, TRIPLE CHECK for wires still connected...cuz its a pain in the a$$ to try to unhook them when theres tension on them. good luck!

 

I agree, I bent the crap out of my brake lines because they got caught up on the body when i wasn't watching.

 

Let the refrigerant out first (I mean get an ASHRAE license, buy a reclaim machine, and do it in the EPA approved way, of course!). And always use a back-up wrench for the other side of the tube-nut joints. Penetrating oil and a long wrench are usually enough. Don't heat them, there is a rubber seal inside. Plug all holes well. Use a new accumulator (the big cannister) when you put it back together - that's what traps the moisture. Ideally you replace all the seals too, but I never do. I just clean them well and put a little refrigerant oil on. Of course mine leak!

Update: I see now you are ditching the a/c. I would keep a/c, though. My reman compressor was like $150 and home recharge - well worth it to me.

 

Yeah i really don't see why people buy these cars and strip of the injection and the A/C, to me these are the main reasons to mod these cars. If i was going to have a car and keep it bare bones i'd just go with a 1st gen.

 

That statement doesn't really make practical sense. A first gen is a usually valuable collector car, unless it is junk. Way too expensive to compare to a 4th gen which is cheap right now. I agree mostly about not getting rid of the EFI, but if the AC is worn out after 13 years and he wants it off instead of an expensive repair, so what? The only guys really pulling off the EFI are guys who have modded it past the limits of the manifold and heads and are trying to get more power out of different setups for racing. It's still a 4th gen whether it has AC, EFI, Big Block, or whatever. Now, if you want a cheap race car and don't want to sacrifice a 4th gen, maybe a 3rd gen mulletmobile is a good alternative.

 

I always took the compressor out by taking out the A/C line running into the condensor and the top line running into the evaporator. Those two lines are what is connected to the compressor and just take it out as a whole.

 

hey thanks for all the advice guys. i got the engine out today. i did it all by myself. one of my buddies let me borrow a cherry picker. if anyone is doing an engine swap, out the bottom is the way to go. other than the stuck lines, it wasent all that hard. now, i need to get it back in. any sugestions? anything i need to look out for?

thanks alot for repling so quickly too!!!

 

I have done it several times out the top (with a TPIS "Happy Hooker"), and it works great for someone with no lift. No brake lines to worry about, no lifting the car to extremes, or any of that. First time it took about three hours, including dropping the transmission and removing the accessories.

 

Some advice for going back in.....

Position the engine and tranny under the car like so....

http://www.ace1252.com/images/DSCN1110.JPG

Put the cherry picker in front of the car...then using bolts and a chain(or the "Happy Hooker") use the cherry picker to pull up the front of the engine and a jack on the back of the tranny.

This way you use the picker to raise the engine, you can easily swing it from side to side....it then goes into place easy....beats the heck out of trying to jack it into place with two jacks.